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Friday, October 4, 2013

Cow Thieves and Outlaws Reunion

The
banker that morning in 1906 didn’t know about Starr when the young Cherokee, his hat in hand,
approached his desk. “I’d
like to hire some money, 'bout five hundred dollars,” Starr said.

The
new bank in Bartlesville, I.T. (soon to be the new state of Oklahoma) hadn’t yet been open two
months, and the bank officer, L.E. Phillips, was the right
hand man and brother to bank owner, Frank Phillips. This handsome young fellow would be their first loan customer.

“It
means do you have any property or goods to secure the loan…” L.E. Smiled. “In
case you don’t pay it back.”

“Well,
I got my horse and saddle…and my Henry rifle.” Starr could tell by the banker’s
expression that wouldn’t be enough. “I reckon they’s a couple fellers here in
town would stand by me for the money."

Sizing
up the young man, L.E. decided he looked like a hard
worker. Plus, the references he’d provided were reputable men in the
community, so they filled out the papers and L.E. handed Henry the cash
money.

Later
that day, when brother Frank looked over the day’s transactions, he asked “You
gave Henry Starr a loan?”

“Why,
yes,” answered L.E. “Do you know him?”

“Only
by reputation,” his brother answered. “He’s robbed several banks.”

The
color left L.E.’s face and he grabbed the back of a chair to steady himself.

In
his book Oil Man Michael Wallis said
this about the Iowa farm boy turned barber turned banker

Frank Phillips

turned oil tycoon: “Frank
Phillips [founder of Phillips Petroleum Company] was…a complete contradiction. It had to do with outlaws, real
honest-to-goodness desperadoes. When it came to outlaws…the ramrod stiff banker
and conservative businessman side of Frank Phillips melted like a cube of sugar
in a cup of hot jamoke.”

The community of outlaws in those parts knew it, too, which gained him a certain
amount of respect among the local banditti. They even extended to Frank Phillips that part of the
brigands’ code about honor among thieves. No one ever robbed
his bank, or stole one head of cattle off his ranch. It’s said many outlaws
deposited cash money in the Phillips' bank, the source of such lucre being
dubious. Most likely, much of it came from unlawful withdrawals from other area
banks. Could’ve been Henry Starr borrowed that $500 to outfit an upcoming job. He
was a thorough planner. But Frank believed in the frontier version of don’t ask, don’t tell. On the other
hand, many owners of said robbed banks made out like bandits themselves by
reporting to the insurance examiners two to three times the amounts actually
stolen. So it was win-win-win.

Frank
Phillips was enamored with the Old West and its ways. He loved outlaws and
lawmen and cowboys and Indians and roughnecks and all such people and things. After
his oil millions started pouring in he purchased land in the Osage hills of the
I.T. putting in cattle and horses and buffalo to roam the 3,600 acres of
prairie, hills, and woodlands. It became known as the FP Ranch, and
later Woolaroc. He built a rustic lodge overlooking a spring-fed lake.
The lodge became his personal retreat, as well as a place to
entertain eastern business associates and celebrities he wanted to impress with
western lore.

The Outlaw Henry Wells

The
vast FP Ranch crossed into and butted up against the campgrounds and hide-outs
for several local desperadoes like Al Spencer, Frank Nash, and Henry Wells.
It’s said on more than one occasion Phillips would ride up to Wells’ cabin to
spend a night playing poker with Wells and his group of shady characters.

Phillips
even put Wells on his ranch payroll any time he had guests at the lodge, just to add
an air of old west authenticity. One time when a group of easterners came to
town, eager to experience the flavor of the “real” west, Phillips had a stage
coach meet them at the train station to transport them to the ranch. A mile or
so from the main gate, Wells and his mounted gang stopped the stage at gun
point and robbed the passengers of every wallet, diamond stickpin, and watch fob. One or two of the party figured
Phillips had staged the whole thing, but after Wells and his boys pushed some
of them around a little, they weren’t rightly sure. When they got to the lodge,
all a-bluster, they found their belongings on a table, and Wells and his gang out back drinking beer and laughing.

Phillips
had a lot of company picnics and barbeques at the ranch, but he wanted to
devise a way to salute all the outlaws and lawmen and cowboys, plus citizens of the Osage Nation where he'd drilled for oil. He
headed up the formation of an association for all these tough guys, and in 1927
held the first of an annual gathering called the Cow Thieves and Outlaws
Reunion.

About
100 “guests” attended the first Reunion, all by invitation, but in the years to
come the guest list and crowd swelled to well over a thousand. Plenty of cow
thieves and outlaws attended, but also

Osage Chief Star That Travels, a.k.a. Bacon Rind

lawmen, politicians, celebrities and
businessmen. It was colorful, to say the least. None were admitted without an invitation;
however, Phillips left instructions at the gate to welcome in any American
Legion boys in uniform, any cowboy on horseback, and any full-blooded Indians in "costume."

Reunion
ground rules were simple: all guns, knives, and grudges had to be checked at
the gate. After the festivities, the lawmen had to give the outlaws time to nurse their hang-overs and get a 24 hour
head start.

The
annual party that was started by “Uncle Frank” Phillips in 1927 continues to
this day. It's hard to say how many cow thieves or outlaws show up nowadays as it’s an entertainment and dinner shindig for mainly Woolaroc Museum patrons. And most
likely any veterans or regalia-clad Indians or mounted cowboys would still need
to lay down the $75 price for a ticket at the gate to gain entrance. More than 900 attended
last year, and they have big expectations for this year’s event. No doubt the
spirit of Osage Chief Bacon Rind, the outlaw Henry Wells, and Uncle Frank will be there,
too.

Phil Truman has authored three of what he calls, “Oklahoma-centric” novels. Red Lands Outlaw, the Ballad of Henry Starr, a historical novel
about the life and times of an Oklahoma outlaw, was a 2013
Peacemaker Award nominee and finalist for the 2013 Will Rogers Medallion
for Western Fiction. His novel GAME, an American Novel is a sports inspirational about small town schoolboy football. Legends of Tsalagee
weaves a tale of mystery and adventure in a small town. His western short story “Last Will for
an Outlaw” appears in LaFrontera Publishing’s anthology, Dead or Alive, released June 2013.

Phil, I learn something new about my home state every time I read one of your posts. This is just fascinating. I've been to the Woolaroc Museum MANY years ago. But I didn't know about the outlaw and lawmen gatherings. Why, oh why, don't they teach these things in school here? Wonderful post as always!Cheryl

Thanks Phil! Always a pleasure to read what you write. I remember the first thing I read of yours. It was a short story you composed in front of me as we tested a new word processing software that was installed on our computers at American Airlines in 1990. I knew then that your were a great writer and now it's good to read your novels.